Shoe supports

ABSTRACT

A SHOE SUPPORT FOR HOLDING A SHOE BOTTOM UPMOST IN POSITION TO BE ENGAGED BY TOOLS WHICH ROUGHT THE MARGINAL PORTION OF THE OVERLASTED UPPER. THE SUPPORT INCLUDES A HOLDDOWN FOOT WHICH ENGAGES THE BOTTOM OF THE SHOE AT THE HEEL AREA. MEANS ARE PROVIDED FOR SELECTIVELY REMOVING THE HOLDDOWN FOOT TO AN INOPERATIVE POSITION TO PERMIT THE TOOLS TO ACT ON THE ENTIRE MARGIN FROM TOE TO HEEL AS DISTINGUISHED FROM ONLY FROM THE TOE TO THE HEEL BREAST LINE WHEN THE HOLDDOWN FOOT IS IN OPERATIVE CLAMPING POSITION.

May 25, 1971 w; oo-r ETAL SHOE SUPPORTS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 8, 1969 Inven ton? Herbert IA/ 500 Z" Les/1'8 B. 077 Shir/e9 L. M Fuoyer By their A [tar/2 65 May 25, 1971 Filed Oct. 8, 1969 H. w. BOOT L saom SUPPORTS 44 W J1 M2 {3 v 5 Sheeigiheet I May 25, 1971 H, w. .5001- ETAL 3,579,695

SHOE SUPPORTS Filed Oct. 8, 1969 5 Sheets-Sheet 8 5 Sheets-Sheet L H. w. BOOT ETAL SHOE SUPPORTS F ll May 25, 1971 Filed Oct. 8, 1969 x fi 1.

May 25, 1971 w, 5001' ETAL 3,579,695

SHOE SUPPORTS Filed Oct. 8, 1969 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,579,695 SHOE SUPPORTS Herbert W. Boot, Leslie R. Parr, and Shirley L. W. Fudger,

Leicester, England, assignors to USM Corporation, Boston, Mass.

Filed Oct. 8, 1969, Ser. No. 864,704 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Oct. 10, 1968,

8 Int. Cl. A45d 21/00, 23/00 US. Cl. 12-127 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the manufacture of shoes in which an outsole is cemented directly to the overlasted margin of the upper, it is necessary to carry out a roughing operation on the upper for a number of reasons. The first is to produce a smooth continuous sole attaching surface by removing pleats, bulges or irregularities from the overlasted margin. A second, and perhaps more important reason for roughing the overlasted margin is that the cements commonly used do not adhere securely enough to the grain side of the upper unless it is roughened or abraded. Insofar as the adhering qualities of the abraded surface are concerned, it is not particularly important by what type of tool the roughing takes place, since practically all abrading tools produce a rough grainless surface from which the leather particles extend as minute fingers or fibers which provide excellent means for reception of the sole attaching cements. I

Heretofore, roughing operations have for the most part been carried on manually by the use of relatively simple machines comprising a rotating wire brush against which the shoe is hand held. There have recently been introduced automatic roughing machines such as that disclosed in US. Pat. 3,233,438 to Hansen et al., granted Feb. 8, 1966.

The apparatus disclosed in the above noted patent com prises in general, a shoe support for supporting a lasted shoe, bottom uppermost; tool carrying means comprising two forwardly extending arms mounted for pivotal movement about horizontal and vertical axes and which each mount a rotary roughing tool. The machine includes hydraulic means for moving the shoe support in a rectilinear path beneath the tools. Each of the pair of tools is guided by a sensing device arranged to cooperate with cam means in the form of a template which causes the tools to operate progressively along opposite marginal portions of the bottom of the shoe supported within the machine.

The template disclosed in the above noted patent has a three dimensional contour. A modification of the patented apparatus is disclosed in US. application Ser. No. 749,862, filed Aug. 2, 1968 and which uses a fiat template, which is supported beneath the shoe and includes means, operable in successive cycles of operation for turning the template supporting means through 180 about the axis so that the apparatus operates alternately on left and right shoes in successive cycles. This modification also 3,579,595 Patented May 25, 1971 includes an indicator for indicating to the operator whether the template is set for operation on a left or a right shoe.

In both the patented machine and that disclosed in the application, the shoe support also includes a holddown foot which engages the bottom of the shoe at the heel area.

In using the above described modified machine or the original machine without modification it will be apparent that, since the holddown foot acts to clamp a shoe to be operated upon and maintains it thus clamped during the operation of the roughing tools, the heel seat of the shoe thus clamped cannot be operated upon, that is the modification is arranged to perform a toe to heel breast roughing operation, i.e. one that stops at the breast line as opposed to an all round roughing operation on all of the marginal portion of the bottom of the shoe presented thereto.

It is accordingly the primary object of this invention to provide an improved apparatus suitable for use in op erating on marginal portions of shoe bottoms comprising a shoe support which enables both toe to heel breast and all round roughing operations to be performed on the bottoms of shoes supported thereby.

In accordance with this object and as a feature of the invention there is provided an illustrative shoe support comprising a toe support mechanism and a heel support mechanism. The latter comprises a support plate engageable with the crown of a last carrying a shoe to be roughed and a holddown foot. Fluid pressure operated means is provided whereby the support plate can urge the bottom of a shoe to be operated upon against the holddown foot which acts to accurately locate said shoe heightwise in the shoe support. The heel support mechanism also comprises a heel clamp, in the form of a V-shaped member, arranged to engage the heel end of a shoe at either side of the backseam region and two side clamping members, arranged to engage said shoe, one at either side thereof. The side clamping members are each provided with a clamping surface which is curved generally to the shape of the quarter portion of a shoe to be clamped thereby, said shape being such that the side clamping members can hold the shoe against upward pressure applied thereto through the support plate as aforesaid.

The holddown foot of the heel support mechanism is mounted for movement between an operative, shoe bot tom locating position and an inoperative, retracted position, and means, including a fluid pressure operated piston and cylinder arrangement, being provided whereby the holddown foot can be moved between said positions. In addition a selector switch is provided whereby a toe to breast line operation or an all round operation can be selected. The arrangement is such that when a toe to breast line operation is selected the holddown foot does not move out of its operative position upon a cycle of operation of the illustrative apparatus being initiated, but when an all round operation is selected the hold down foot does move out of said position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other features of the invention including various novel details of construction and combinations of parts will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims. It will be understood that the particular roughing machine embodying the invention is shown by Way of illustration only and not as a limitation of the invention. The principles and features of this invention may be employed in varied and numerous embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as, for example in any shoe machine performing a peripheral operation about a shoe bottom such as lasting, tacking, sewing, etc.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a side elevation with parts broken away of the heel support mechanism of an illustrative roughing machine embodying the invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are similar to FIG. 1 but showing a holddown foot of the heel support mechanism in an intermediate and an inoperative position;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of parts of the illustrative shoe support mechanism shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view, on a small scale, showing the template supporting mechanism of the shoe support taken substantially along the line V-V of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a side elevation on a smaller scale of most of the roughing machine and its operating instrumentalities.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 6 thereof, the novel features of the invention are shown as associated with the work supporting structure of a botto roughing machine of the type disclosed in the above identified US. patent, modified in the several respects indicated above and particularly as disclosed in the abovementioned pending application. Thus, the work supporting structure here indicated generally by the reference character 8 has a base portion 10 which is slidably mounted for movement on a portion 12 of the machine frame by power operated means 13, to cause a bottom of a shoe S, comprising a last L with a lasted upper U thereon, mounted with its toe on a toe support 15 on the supporting structure to pass beneath two roughing tools 14 and 16.

In common with machines of this type the roughing tools are carried, respectively, by shafts 18, 20, which are journaled in supporting arms 19 which correspond in function with the arms 68, 69 of the machine of the above-mentioned patent. The mechanism for driving the roughing tools as well as that provided for controlling their heightwise position relative to the bottom of the shoe during the operating cycle of the machine forms no part of the present invention and, therefore, has not been discussed and will not be described. It will be sufficient to state that during relative movement between the supporting structure 8 and the two roughing tools 14 and 16, and as these tools are operating on opposite marginal portions of the bottom of the shoe, the positions of the tools in directions extending widthwise of the shoe are determined by the engagement of cam rolls 24, 26, best seen in FIG. 5. These rolls are associated respectively with the roughing tools 14 and 16, and engage the opposite sides of a template, indicated generally by the reference character T, mounted on the lower portion of the supporting structure. These rolls are carried, respectively, by arms 28 and 30, portions of which appear in FIG. 5.

The heel support is generally designated 40 and comprises a last support plate 42 resiliently mounted by four springs 44 (two only being shown) on a support linkage arrangement (not shown), a piston and cylinder arrangemnet 43 (FIG. 1) being provided whereby the last support plate 42 is movable heightwise in the operation of the illustrative apparatus.

Mounted above the last plate 42 in the illustrative shoe support is a holddown foot generally designated 46 and comprising a generally T-shaped member 48 (FIG. 4) a shank of which extends lengthwise of the shoe support with cross portions 50 extending transversely thereof. The member 48 is mounted for pivotal movement about a pin 52 supported between upstanding walls of a slide block 54 (FIG. 1), the block being slidable lengthwise of the shoe support in guideways 56 formed in blocks 58 each formed integral with a casting 60 secured between side walls of the heel support 40.

Pivotally connected, by means of a pin '62, to the end portion of the member 48 remote from the cross portions 50 thereof are two depending links 64 arranged one at either side of the member 48, the links 64 being connected at lower end portions thereof by a pin 66 and each link carrying intermediate its length a roll 68, the rolls being mounted on a pin 70 passing through the links. Also pivotally connected between the links 64 on a pin 72, at an intermediate portion above the rolls 68, is one arm of a three armed lever 74 a second arm of which is fixedly mounted on a cross shaft 76 in turn supported by two lugs 78 formed integral with the casting 60. The lever 74 has a circular cut away portion 80 through which the pin 70 passes, said cut away portion being provided with two smaller circular recesses 8-2, 84 in its periphery. When the holddown foot 46 is in an operative position (see FIG. 1), in opposed relationship with the last support plate 42, the pin 70 is accommodated in the recess 82.

The third arm of the lever 74 carries a pin 86- at each end of which is secured one end of a spring 88, the other end of each spring being secured on the pin 66 connecting the two links 64. Thus the links 64 and the lever 74 together form a toggle arrangement and the springs '88 constantly act to urge said arrangement into a break position.

Also fixedly mounted on the cross shaft 76 is a link 90, to a bifurcated end portion of which is secured, by a pivot pin 92, a piston rod 94 of a double acting piston and cylinder arrangement generally designated 96 which is mounted on a bracket 98- secured to the casting 60. Admission of air under pressure into either end of the piston and cylinder arrangement '96 is effective to cause rotation of the cross shaft 76.

The illustrative work supporting structure 8 also comprises a heel clamp in the form of a V-shaped block 100 which is mounted for sliding movement widthwise of the shoe support in a guideway 102 (FIG. 1) formed in a face of the casting 60. Also mounted in the casting 60 behind the heel clamp and projecting, under the influence of springs 104, 106 (FIG. 4), into the path of sliding movement thereof are two plungers 108, 110 constituting first and second shoe sensing devices. As fully described in US. application Ser. No. 749,862, the 0pposite ends of each of the plungers 108, 110 can actuate a pneumatic valve V2011, V2111 respectively, according to whether a shoe placed in the shoe support is a left or right.

In addition, the illustrative heel support 40 comprises two side clamping members in the form of arms 112 each pivotally mounted, by means of a pin 114, on a lug of the casting 60. Each arm 112 carries a shoe engaging block 116 which is secured to the arm by a pin 118 (FIG. 4) captively slidable in an arcuate slot 120 formed in the arm. Thus the blocks 116 are capable of limited arcuate sliding movement to accommodate different styles and size of shoe. Each block 116 has a concave shoe engaging face 117 shaped so as to fit the shape of the heel end portion of a shoe close to the feather line region. In this way a shoe placed in the shoe support can be held by the side clamping members against upward pressure applied through the support plate 42, upon the holddown foot 46' being moved out of its operative position.

The side clamping members 112 move towards one another, to clamp a shoe positioned therebetween, by a piston and cylinder arrangement described in the above identified application and generally designated 122 (FIG. 1). A spring 124 (FIG. 4) is tensioned between end portions of the arms 112 remote from the blocks 116 to urge said end portions towards one another and thus to urge the blocks 116 apart into an inoperative position.

The illustrative apparatus comprises selector switch means 125 whereby either a toe to breast line roughing operation or an all round roughing operation can be selected according to the style of shoe to be operated upon. The toggle switch means 125 is mounted on the shoe support structure 40 and through conventional solenoid operated valving controls air to and from the cylinder 96. Switching the toggle switch to a toe to breast line position is effective to prevent the supply of air under pressure to the piston and cylinder arrangement 96 being switched, so that in a toe to breast line roughing operation the holddown foot 46 remains in its operative position throughout the operation. Switching the toggle switch to an all round position, on the other hand, allows the supply of air under pressure to said ararngement 96- to be switched, whereby the holddown foot 46 is retracted to an inoperative position (see FIG. 3), the switching of said supply being elfected in the illustrative apparatus when a cycle of operation thereof is initiated.

The movement of the holddown foot 46 from its operative to its inoperative position is illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. Switching the air supply to the piston and cylinder arrangement 96 causes the cross shaft 76' to be rotated clockwise (as viewed in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3) whereby the toggle arrangement formed between the links 64 and lever 74 about the pivot pin 72 is broken, the springs 88 acting to assist this breaking, and the pin 70 carrying the rolls 68 is moved into the recess 84 of the cut away portion 80. The lever 74 is thus pivoted about the axis of said cross shaft whereby the links 64 are swung counterclockwise and pulled downwardly thus to raise the cross member 50 of the holddown foot 46 out of operative engagement with the shoe bottom (see FIG. 2). The pressure of air acting to urge the support plate 42 upwardly is regulated to prevent the shoe being forced between the side clamping members 112, by which only the shoe is now clamped against heightwise and widthwise movement.

Further pivotal movement of the lever 74 as aforesaid is then effective to draw the holddown foot 46 in its support block '54 away from its operative position. In so doing the rolls 68 are moved into engagement with abutment members in the form of pins 126 (FIGS. 3 and 4) mounted on a bracket 128 secured to the casting 60 and the toggle arrangement tends once more to be straightened, the pin 70 being moved out of the recess '84 to a central region of the cut away portion 80 (see FIG. 3), the holddown foot 46 then being in its inoperative position.

At the end of the all round" roughing operation, that is after the shoe support 40 has carried a shoe S to be operated upon beneath tools 14, 16 supported by the tool supporting means and has returned to the shoe loading position, the side clamping members 112 are caused to release their clamping hold on the shoe and the support plate 42 falls away, so that the shoe S can be removed. At this time the supply of air to the piston and cylinder arrangement 96 is reversed and the holddown foot 46 returns to its operative position, a stop member 130 (FIG. 2) being formed integral with the casting 60, with which stop member the block 54 is moved into engagement. The holddown foot 46 is at this stage in a raised position. Further movement of the lever 74, after the stop member is engaged, is then effective to cause the links 64 to pivot clockwise (viewing FIGS. 1, 2, and 3) about the pin 62, thus to bring the cross member 50 of the holddown foot down into its operative position determined when the pin 76 is again accommodated in the recess 82 and the toggle arrangement is in a straightened condition.

In using the illustrative apparatus it is necessary that the lowermost portion of the bottom of a shoe being operated upon is the toe end portion. For varying the height of the heel support arrangement of the illustrative shoe support, therefore, the casting 60 is mounted for pivotal movement in the side walls of the structure 40 on pivot pins 132 (FIG. 4), an adjusting screw 134 being secured in the casting and screwed into a block 136 pivoted on a bracket 138 (FIG. 1) secured to one of said side walls. Rotation of the screw 134 is thus effective to vary the position of the casting 60, and thus of the heel support arrangement.

The means for supporting the template T (FIG. 5)

comprises a shaft 140 rotatably mounted in a bore 142 formed in the right hand (as viewed in FIG. 5) portion 144 of the support, the bore extending lengthwise of the shoe support. Formed integral with the shaft 140 is a collar 146 on which is welded a block 148'. The block is provided with a slot 150 (FIG. 1) providing, adjacent the collar 146, two locating surfaces 152 forming a V-shape against which a V-shaped cut out portion of a template T, provided at a heel end portion thereof, can be located.

Secured to the block 148 is a casting 154 extending lengthwise of the shoe support and supported at its opposite end on a shaft 1516 supported for rotation in the left hand portion (not shown) of the support. Each template T is provided with a locating pin 158 which abuts against the casting 154 and a further pin 160 for indicating in which orientation the template is to be placed in the template supporting means.

In the operation of the illustrative apparatus, conveniently the operator first selects which operation is to be performed and positions a template T, corresponding to the shoe bottom to be operated upon, in the template supporting means of the shoe support 40, the toe support 15 then being located lengthwise of the shoe support by said template. The operator then places the shoe S to be operated upon, bottom uppermost, in the shoe support 40 with the heel end thereof against the V-shaped heel clamp 10 0 and, by actuation of fluid pressure operated means 43, cause the support plate 42 of the heel support arrangement to be moved upwardly to clamp the heel seat portion of the shoe bottom against the holddown foot 46, which is in its operative position when the shoe support is in its shoe loading position. At the same time the side clamping members 112 are caused to engage the shoe.

With the shoe thus clamped a cycle of operation of the illustrative apparatus is then initiated and the shoe support 40 is caused to move beneath the tools 14, 16 whereby a roughing operation is performed progressively along opposite marginal portions of the shoe bottom. If an all round roughing operation has been selected, initiating the cycle of operation as aforesaid is also effective to actuate the means whereby the holddown foot 46 is moved between its operative and inoperative positions, and the holddown foot 46 is thus moved to its inoperative position.

The pressure of fluid operating the fluid pressure operated means 122 whereby the support plate is urged upwardly towards the holddown foot 46 is so regulated that, upon movement of the holddown foot to its inoperative position, said pressure is insufficient to force the shoe out from between the side clamping members, but is suflicient to hold the shoe securely in the shoe support in cooperation with the side clamping members.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for operating on the bottoms of partially fabricated shoes, means for mounting a shoe bottom upwardly, said means comprising a toe support, a heel support comprising a holddown member engageable with the shoe bottom in the heel area, means for urging the shoe upwardly against the holddown member, side clamping means engageable with the sides of the shoe in the heel area, and means for selectively moving the holddown member from an operative position in engagement with the shoe bottom to an inoperative position withdrawn from the shoe bottom thereby exposing the entire shoe bottom for operation by the shoe machine.

2. Shoe mounting means as in claim 1 wherein the side clamping means comprise arms movable toward and away from the sides of the shoe adjacent the heel end near the feather line, a shoe engaging block associated with each arm, and means mounting each block in its associated arm for limited movement to accommodate different styles and sizes of shoes.

3. Shoe mounting means as in claim 1 wherein the heel support also includes a heel clamp in the form of a generally V-shaped block engageable with the heel of the shoe in close proximity to the feather line and means mounting said block for sliding movement widthwise of the shoe.

4. Shoe mounting means as in claim 1 wherein the holddown member comprises a substantially T-shaped foot mounted for pivotal movement heightwise of the shoe bottom.

5. Shoe mounting means as in claim 4 and including means slidably mounting the T-shaped foot for movement in a direction extending lengthwise of the heel toe axis of the shoe.

8 '6. Shoe mounting means as in claim 1 wherein power means are operatively connected to the holddown member to pivot the said holddown member upwardly relative to the shoe bottom and rearwardly away from the heel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/1960 Baker 12127 2/ 19'66' Hansen et a1. 12127X US. Cl. X.R. 1214.2 

